Regarding Yelp’s loss in court, the Virginia Court of Appeals slapped Yelp with a bad review (see court’s opinion). It ruled the Web site must release the names of negative-clandestine reviewers.

Actually, Yelp was held in contempt earlier by a lower court. The company flouted the justice system when it refused to comply with a subpoena in a ruling by the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria.

The small business owner convinced the court the seven reviewers were bogus because they weren’t authentic customers. He said he couldn’t “match defendants’ reviews with actual customers in its database.”

By making bogus claims, the reviewers weren’t eligible for protection under the First Amendment, according to the court.

“Yelp said that all the posts had different IP addresses, but how many IP addresses does one person have between all their devices?” Mr. Delaney said. “It would be easy to create a number of different fake accounts.”

The small business won despite formidable opposition.

Candidly, it’s disappointing that journalists failed to show good judgment in this case. Friend of the court briefs supporting Yelp were filed by the American Society of News Editors, Gannett, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and The Washington Post.

But the journalists proved to be inconsistent — in other situations, they continually harp for transparency and with regularity sue for their freedom of information.

As a credentialed journalist and a business performance consultant, my experience prompts me to have a balanced perspective:

1. In America, the accused have a right to address accusers. Plus, courts have a presumption of innocence until the defendant is proven guilty. Only after convicted in a court of law, can journalists negatively label a person.

3. Yelp disingenuously hides reviews. If a company has hidden positive or negative reviews, Yelp does a disservice to consumers and businesses, alike. Such reviews are impossible to investigate.

4. Hidden reviews prevent a positive outcome. A company is prevented from addressing the valid concerns of negative reviewers and leading to positive outcomes.

5. Yelp is disingenuous with businesses. Yelp is unresponsive and doesn’t cooperate with well-intentioned business owners who want to address hidden reviews. (As consultant and writer, I’ve seen this unfortunate movie on numerous occasions.)

6. Yelp profits from a conflict of interest. Yelp profits from bad reviews. It tries selling advertising to businesses. This means a business owner feels extortion by Yelp to filter reviews down the list or to delete them.

7. Transparency is best. In this age of cybercrime, there are many disingenuous sources of fake reviews — from jealous competitors and power-hungry bloggers to cybercriminals with an ax to grind.

8. Hidden reviews even hurt authentic reviewers. Yelp’s business model prevents the consumer from enjoying an enhanced relationship with a business. A savvy business often wants to reward loyal customers with better deals.

Yelp is a San Francisco company. So is it domiciled in California? No. Guess where it’s domiciled?

In Delaware — for favorable tax treatment.

Yelp has agents in every state. That’s a good thing to know as a business owner, if you’ve been unfairly treated by Yelp and need to take legal action against phony reviews that hurt your reputation.

Yelp should be slapped for not screening bogus reviews and its conflict of interest of profiting from alleged bad reviews.

10 Tips for Hiring the Right Attorney for Your Business — In running a successful business, you typically need the services of three professionals — a good tax accountant or CPA, insurance agent and an attorney. Know that talent and skill levels are crucial for your success.

“Every time you dig up something from the past, you give more meaning to the present.”

-Robert Taylor, from the movie: Valley of the Kings

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.